Cold IPA vs. Juicy IPA: Chill Crispness or Cloudy Softness?

Good morning. Happy 4th of July weekend! I hope it was filled with family, friends, and a few cold, homebrewed beers.

-Brandon Copeland

Cold IPA vs. Juicy IPA: Chill Crispness or Cloudy Softness?

The 2025 World Beer Cup gave hop-heads plenty to argue about. On one side: Cold IPA; a lager-yeast, low-temp, ultra-crisp newcomer that snagged gold with pFriem Family Brewers’ simply named “Cold IPA.” On the other: Juicy (Hazy) IPA, still the crowd-pleaser, whose gold medal went to Everywhere Brewing’s pillowy “Shifted Visions.” With both styles taking top podium spots, it’s a perfect moment to ask: which hop delivery system really wins in the glass?

What Makes a Cold IPA “Cold”?

• Lager yeast at ale strength
  Fermented around 50 °F, Cold IPAs use clean lager strains but target 6.5–7.5 % ABV - higher than most hoppy lagers.

• Sharp, dry finish
  Rice or corn lightens the body, letting bitterness pop.

• West-Coast hop timing
  Whirlpool and dry-hop additions favor bright grapefruit, resin, or diesel notes without yeast-derived haze.

Fans say the result drinks like an IPL and a West-Coast IPA had a refreshingly bitter baby; crisp, bright, and fridge-crushing.

Why Juicy IPAs Still Rule Tap Handles

• Cloudy softness
  High-protein malts (oats, wheat) and low flocculating yeast leave a haze that feels almost creamy.

• Hop-juice aromatics
  Warm-fermented ales accentuate tropical thiols - think mango purée and Valencia oranges.

• Low bitterness, huge aroma
  Late-stage hopping piles on fruit salad while keeping IBU sting minimal.

Flavor Face-Off

Cold IPA delivers that throwback West-Coast bite but drops the caramel heft. Juicy IPA trades bitterness for saturated fruit and a smoothie mouthfeel.

Brew-Day Considerations

Cold IPA hurdles:

• You need lager-capable temp control.

• Extended cold conditioning (three weeks) pays dividends.

Juicy IPA watch-outs:

• Oxygen pickup is haze kryptonite; closed transfers are a must.

• Water chemistry leans chloride > sulfate to keep things plush.

Either way, hops are still your biggest line-item expense - just deployed differently.

Is Cold IPA Here to Stay?

Skeptics call it “just IPL rebranded.” Yet medal wins and taproom buzz suggest otherwise. Brewers love a style that lets classic C-hops shine without the caramel sweetness that pushed early West-Coast IPAs out of favor.

Juicy IPA, meanwhile, is no fad - eight years into its hype cycle, it still commands the largest competition field and continues to evolve with thiol-boosting yeasts and cryo hop products.

Maybe the real takeaway is variety: crisp lagery clears the palate for the next haze bomb, and vice versa.

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Beer Trivia Question

🍺 Which U.S. brewery coined the term “Cold IPA” in 2018, debuting the style with its beer “Relapse IPA”?

Read to the end to find out if you're right!

Brewgr Recipe of the Week

Oopsie Pale Ale

Had to source an American beer recipe on the weekend of July 4th, and this American Pale Ale will do the trick. The Oopsie Pale Ale uses primarily Pilsner malt with a smattering of different hops, followed by classic Safale US-05 yeast.

Credit: LostCreekChaz

Poll Results: Would You Experiment with Turbid Mashing?

I have to agree with the majority of poll respondents - I’m a single mash infusion kind of brewer. I like to keep things simple when I can, however I find it fascinating to dig into different ways of brewing.

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And the Answer Is...

🍺 Wayfinder Beer in Portland, Oregon coined “Cold IPA” in 2018, releasing Relapse IPA as the prototype. Brewer Kevin Davey aimed for lager-clean crispness paired with West-Coast hop punch.